CENTERVILLE, Mass. – The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) has announced the eighth Lambert Meadowlands Football Poll of the 2013 season and Towson University (10-2) is the number one selection in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).

The Tigers, who were ranked fifth nationally in The Sports Network’s national poll last week, are ranked ahead of this week’s NCAA FCS playoff opponent, Fordham (12-1). The Tigers are also ranked ahead of Colonial Athletic Association rivals Maine (10-2) and New Hampshire (8-4).

While the Tigers are hosting Fordham on Saturday, Maine will be hosting New Hampshire in Orono.

Towson won the Lambert Meadowlands Award as the top Division II team in the East three times. The Tigers were honored in 1983, 1984 and 1986.

In the other divisions, Penn State University (7-5) has regained the No. 1 overall ranking in the Football Bowl Subdivision Lambert Poll, while West Chester University (12-1) has moved back into first place for the first time since week four in the Division II rankings. St. John Fisher College (10-2) is the top team in the Division III for the first time this season.

Established in 1936 as the Lambert Trophy to recognize supremacy in Eastern college football, the award has since grown to recognize the best team in the East in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). In 1957, the Lambert Cup was created to recognize non-Division I-A teams, and in 1966 a Division III award was added. In 1983, the Lambert family decided the Meadowlands Sports Complex would be the best organization with a sincere and involved interest in college athletics to sponsor and manage the award, and since that time, the awards have been known as the Lambert Meadowlands Awards.

To be eligible for the Lambert Meadowlands Award, a school must be located in the East or play at least half of its schedule against eligible Lambert teams. The territory includes New York, New Jersey, New England and Pennsylvania, while teams in the bordering states of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia and the District of Columbia qualify if at least half of their schedule features eligible teams.

Teams in Eastern-based football conferences, regardless of location, qualify if at least half their schedule is against Lambert eligible teams.